This page is about 2nd Lieutenant Jack E. Dyer's service in WW2 from his enlistment to his final mission over Brasov, Romania,
On October 27, 1941, Jack E. Dyer chose to enlist into the US Armed forces. After basic traiming he learned how to fly various aicrafts and due to his college education he was made an officer. Soon he was assigned to the 450th Bomb Group "Cottontails" in 1943. While in the bomb group he was assigned to the 721st squadron. The group was transitioned to Almagordo Army Airfield where he trained to fly B-24 Libersators, a heavy bomber capable of speeds up to 290 MPH and a flight range of 3,000 miles. Finally, after completing the final stages of Pilot Training, Jack Dyer and the rest of the 450th Air Echelon transitioned to Harington, Kansas. While there they prepared for the journey to Italy. Finally, on November 20, 1943, the Air Echelon departed for Manduria, Italy. Their first stop was in Morrison Field in West Palm Beach, Florida. From there the 450th travelled to Borinquen, Puerto Rico. From there they traveled to Belem Airfield in Brazil. Next the 450th flew to Natal, Brazil. Natal was the jumping off point for many Allied air crews do to its proximity to Europe and Africa. After that Jack Dyer moved to Dakar, Senegal only to move on to Tunis, Tunisia. As the final leg of Jack's journey came to a close as he left Tunis to land in his future "home" of Manduria, Italy. It was here that Jack Dyer would serve the reminder of his career. This photo is of the various stages of flight training in 1944. Jack Dyer would of most likely went through a similiar process. This is a photo of Alamogordo Air Base in 1943. Here Jack Dyer and the rest of the 450th Bomb Group trained. This is a map of where Jack Dyer's trip to Manduria took him.
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Conditions at Jack Dyer's new "home" at Manduria were typically wet and muddy. Often enough water would collect in the center of the air base that many of the soldiers called it "Lake Manduria." Interesting enough, many of those traveling to Manduria had picked up various "pets" while in Brazil, Africa, and Florida. These ranged from puppies to Marmoset Monkeys, these are recorded to eventually become pests since they grew fast and caused problems. 450th's main bombing targets while in Italy were usually either Italian or Balkan points of military significance lier oil fields, marshalling yards, or military bases. Do to the proximity to combat going on the men are often noted as constantly concerned of German air raids. Not much is recorded on Jack Dyer's service while in Manduria, however, one can assume he flew a few missions while stationed there. *above is a plaque commemerating the service of the airmen stationed at Manduria. **below are photos of a B-24 Liberator landing a Manduria, a barracks from the war, and various photos of the remnants of the airfield. Below is a photo of U.S. airmen learning Italian from a ten year old boy at Manduria
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